A Castle of Sand (A Shade of Vampire 3)

CHAPTER 31: SOFIA

The culling is tomorrow.

When Ashley and Kyle returned with the blood, I felt confident enough to leave Derek’s side and entrust him into Corrine’s capable hands. I had to warn Gavin and the others about the culling. What they planned to do with the warning was entirely up to them, but whatever they did, I was determined to support them, trusting that Derek would understand my reasons for doing so.

“Where are you going?” Ashley asked when I bade my leave.

“Back to The Catacombs.”

She exchanged nervous glances with Kyle, who stepped up and said, “That’s probably not a great idea right now…”

“Why? What happened?” I asked anxiously, dread coming over me based on the uncomfortable looks on their faces. That’s when I realized that the expression on Ashley’s face was beyond discomfort. It was of pure heartbreak. “Tell me, Ashley.”

She licked her lips. It was clear to see that she was fighting back tears. “The king was livid after what happened. He hit the only people he could in order to hurt you.”

I sucked in a breath steeling myself against what they were about to tell me. “Go ahead.”

Tears began to brim Ashley’s eyes. “Paige and the three new girls…they’re dead. Felix and his men…while everything was happening at the town square…they went to your quarters and killed everyone they found there. By order of the king.”

“They planned on doing it even before everything that happened at the town square,” Kyle continued to explain when Ashley broke into a sob. “It was their back-up plan in case what Gregor wanted to happen at The Shade—turn Derek against you—didn’t push through.”

“A last-ditch attempt to hurt me.” I nodded with understanding, tears beginning to fall down my cheeks. Gregor definitely knew how to hurt me. “Rosa?” I asked.

“She was visiting with Lily and the kids when it all happened,” Kyle said the words reassuringly in hopes of giving me a thread of comfort.

I wanted to break down. I wanted to just crumble and give in to the despair that I felt over the loss of four innocent lives, but even as tears flowed down my face, beyond the grief, what I felt was anger. Paige and the girls had nothing to do with Gregor’s hatred toward me. They had nothing to do with what had happened at the town square. If I’d just dragged Derek into a war with his father, at that moment, I hoped with everything that I was that Derek could someday find it in himself to actually kill his own father.

What had to happen now—however—was for the deaths to not be in vain. I shoved the urge to give in to the grief and instead focused my thoughts and energies on making martyrs out of my friends.

Upon my return to The Catacombs, I met with Gavin, Ian and the rest of those who were planning a revolt.

“The culling is tomorrow,” I announced. “During the unexpected events that occurred at the town square, they murdered four of my friends here at The Catacombs. Tomorrow, they plan to murder more people.”

“Let’s get straight to the point, Red.” Ian stood to his full height—standing at least half a foot taller than me. Even with his lanky build, he was a rather intimidating sight, considering the fury blazing in his eyes. “Is your prince going to help us stop the culling?”

I shook my head. “He’s unconscious. We’re on our own on this one.”

“We can’t just let this happen…” Gavin sat up straight in his chair. “There’s got to be something we can do.”

It was perhaps the anger I felt over what they did to my friends, over every atrocity that I’d seen happen at The Shade. It was perhaps the righteous indignation I felt over losing Ben and Gwen and Paige and those three young innocents taken from their homes just like I was to become slaves at The Shade. At that moment, however, I didn’t care if I lived or died. I wasn’t just going to stand back and let them drag the weak and defenseless to their deaths. Not while I was there, not when there were thousands of human beings in The Catacombs capable of fighting back.

I knew that blood was going to be shed. I was also very much aware that the blood could most likely be mine, but I really didn’t care anymore. I was tired of running, tired of being afraid. If I was the girl who was going to help Derek fulfill the prophecy, then I was going to do it fighting for what I believed in and hoping that he would someday find it in his heart to forgive me.

At that point, I realized that my return to The Shade wasn’t just about Derek and me anymore. It couldn’t be. If I was going to be of any use to him, I couldn’t remain a love-struck teenager pining over him. I had to come into my own.

Looking into the hopeful and passionate eyes of the people surrounding me, I knew what had to happen. “We are going to do something.” I nodded resolutely. “We’re going to fight back.”